[David.M]

Jude, how much money should i send you on your paypal acc so we can get the old site back? ^_^
 

 

[balderon]

Quote:

IPodPJ, there were four levels in the old system, and 3 and 4 had no ads.  All of the subscriptions carried over into the new system.
 
I haven't put anything new up yet (as far as a Contributing Member system goes), but will likely go with just two levels, the second one having the ad-free option.

 
Do you ensure there will be absolutely ZERO ads if one decides to join at the second level, or continue a membership at that level? I am asking this question because as a contributing member I currently do not see any ads on the pages. If anyone "tags" a thread I immediately see Amazon ads for the tagged item and more importantly the number of ads will increase - one per tag added. This issue has been demonstrated painfully several times.

 

[earthpeople]

Quote:

Do we still have the ability to "permalink" to individual posts? That was a convenient referencing feature that seems to have gone away, but maybe it's just changed?

There's a number in the top right corner of every post. If you click that, you should have a link straight to that post.

 

[ztsen]

me too. I prefer the old design. Now always keep me a feeling I enter wrong site.

 

[grokit]

Ah thanks, I had a feeling I was missing something; the missing link

---

Quote:

There's a number in the top right corner of every post. If you click that, you should have a link straight to that post.

 

[nsx_23]

I am sort of getting used to the new layout.
 
2 complaints:
 
1) Its very hard to distinguish between threads with and without new posts.
 
2) All the stuff along the right hand side has to go. Its rather annoying having to rotate my head/eyes to read content.

 

[n_maher]

Erik,
 
It's not that I don't see your point or that I disagree with you at all, I just happen to think that what Huddler appears to be doing isn't so egregious but more the norm.  Does that make it right, honestly I don't think I'm qualified to judge.  I see both the good and bad of targeted advertising and like you chose who I allow to use that data.
 
Furthermore does the new forum and its software represent a fundamental change in the nature of Head-Fi?  Yes, in my opinion it does and I think (but can't say for sure) that Jude would probably agree.  The forum's advertising space is now marketed and managed by a third party and that's a pretty big deal in my book.  Does that spell the end?  I don't know.  What I do know is that Jude still has a vested interest in keeping the membership happy and that he's working with Huddler on a variety of fronts to address issues.  I'm willing to give him time to do that and hope for a good outcome. 
 
As others have said at this point there isn't an undo button and Huddler is here for a while.  So I'm going to do what I can to productively and constructively work towards making that a good experience. 
 
Quote:

Nate, I've nullified Google's tracking for years and use blocking programs whenever possible. I don't contribute to a forum (both money and content) in order to be datamined, sold to marketers and receive targeted advertising. I don't think we're going to see eye-to-eye on this matter, but "everyone else is doing it" isn't a very satisfying excuse.

 

[Qonmus]

I probably won't leave, because in the end its the content of a forum that makes it what it is, but I would like to say that I am also unhappy with the changes. 
 
Still love head-fi though. Also, good post mod. ^

 

[midoo1990]

n_maher.since you are close to Jude and you were honest with that post,can you please tell us why Jude changed the platform and made Huddler run it now?we are just trying to figure it out.is it because the site needs more support by making some profit?is it because Jude needs to concentrate on important things in his life like work and need someone else to help him with the headfi?that's all we need to know and in both cases we can't complain,but this silence from Jude's and moderators side doesn't help anyone and only adds to the frustration because we don't know what is going on.

 

[mark2410]

i can understand why jude would want to hand over so much to huddler but what i fail to see the reasoning for is why such a fundamental change in the nature of how the site is run and controlled could not have been broached here before hand.  if jude has simply said hey folks this is what im thinking about doing, what do you think?  all this could have been avoided.
 
 
also what happened to all the old sponsors since they now all seem to have been booted.  i see no mention of any bar headamp, headroom and sennhieser.  were they all told to go forth and multiply by headfi or huddler?

 

[jude]

Quote:

n_maher.since you are close to Jude and you were honest with that post,can you please tell us why Jude changed the platform and made Huddler run it now?we are just trying to figure it out.is it because the site needs more support by making some profit?is it because Jude needs to concentrate on important things in his life like work and need someone else to help him with the headfi?that's all we need to know and in both cases we can't complain,but this silence from Jude's and moderators side doesn't help anyone and only adds to the frustration because we don't know what is going on.

midoo1990, there's no intentional silence from me.  I have been spending more time on Head-Fi than ever before lately, only exceeded by the time spent recovering during (and after) the huge outage in late 2007.  Right now, my biggest priority is documenting bug fixes and optimizations for the engineering team of our platform partner (Huddler).
 
One of my main goals since Head-Fi's start in 2001 was to see Head-Fi grow as a community of enthusiasts for a very specific niche (headphone hi-fi), such that we'd see more and more headphone audio products.  Compared to what's available now, what was available then seems infinitely more limited.  I think it's fair to say the community here has played a role in making that happen.
 
I'll make a more dedicated thread later today/tonight explaining how I see Head-Fi moving forward.  Until then, I do want to make something clear:  Huddler isn't taking over Head-Fi.  We are on their platform, but they know that I would not have made the transition to it if we didn't have a say in the platform's ongoing development, as well as customizations to it specifically for Head-Fi (some of which may make it to other forums on the platform).  Huddler is also eventually going to be handling most of the ad sales and Sponsorship sales, but I will still remain involved there, too, as needed.   I will still maintain the relationships I have with the Sponsors, but, for me, the most interesting thing to talk to the Sponsors and other members of the trade about is what they're doing--product development, what's coming down the pike, what we'd like to see, etc.  I hope that in the future my contact with them will be mostly about things of that type.  We as a community have had a hand (an ear?) in shaping many things about our niche, whether you realize it or not.
 
For what it's worth, I am very happy with this platform, and feel that what it has--as well as the planned ongoing evolution and improvements to it--was necessary to moving Head-Fi forward, and I'll say more about that later, too.  That said, yes, this platform has bugs.  It needs some changes to both the member-facing user interface / navigation, and also improvements for administrators and moderators to do their things.  Communications of what's needed and what's wanted are constant, including I don't know how many hours of telephone calls, and even more hours in an online project planning and collaboration area, since the move to this platform.
 
For what it's worth to any of you--be it nothing or a buck--I'm not going anywhere, and hope to be spending more time doing what I enjoy doing at Head-Fi, once the dust settles, and that's once again being as much a member here as anything else.  I was talking to one of the organizers of the Can Jam Los Angeles (2009) event last night.  He told me he loved being an organizer last year, but it made it more challenging to take in the meet itself (from an attendee's perspective), as much fun as he was having being an organizer.  He is looking forward to attending Can Jam Chicago (2010) as an attendee, so that he can take in the meet as all of the other non-organizer attendees get to.  That's a pretty good analogy of how I've felt here for years.  I love every aspect of being an owner/administrator here, but I also loved being more involved in the discussions and interactions here in the forums, and I'd like to get to a point where I can do more of the latter than I've been able to do in years.
 
Again, I'll say more later about why I decided to make the move, and how I see Head-Fi moving forward.
 
2010-05-14 0025 EDT UPDATE:  Sorry, everyone, but I'm swamped with Head-Fi-related things, so the post from me (mentioned above) will have to wait until later (I'll shoot for this weekend).

 

[midoo1990]

 
Jude i appreciate your response,thank you.looking forward to reading your thread.

 

[jjcapurro]

I for one like the new design. It's modern and fresh, and I have no problem spending a few days getting used to new positions of buttons, and such. I do this any time ANY of the websites I frequent gets updated. Usually updates like this are for the best, and I feel the same way in this instance. A new platform change on a site as large as head-fi will certainly require some time at the beginning for tweaking and adjustment. Functionality will return, and probably better than before. Be patient, and thanks Jude for even providing the site in the first place. Many people who start something as a hobby would not ever take the time and effort required (not to mention money!) to upgrade, and extend the capabilities of a site like this. Jude is one in a million, and we just happen to have him in our corner... even if you don't presently like how the site looks.

 

[bhjazz]

Well put, jj.  I agree.  I think the thing I notice most is the obvious increase in performance.  And while I agree that targeted ads and such can be obtrusive, it shows that our Head Fi continues to grow and extend its reach.  I dunno, I'm pretty sure I can get used to it. 

 

[netsky3]

Old layout is the way. More easy and user friendly, especially the forum